Cyriac
by Kandon Kuuson
Summary: Former Mossad Agent Jacob Korah codename Cyriac is hunting Ziva David out of vengence. A former lover walks back into her life. What turn of events will set in motion their romance again? ZivaOC
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I don't own any Characters that appear on the TV show. They all belong to Belisarius Productions and CBS. The original characters are all mine, save for the man known as Cyriac. His character is based on a Character from JAG called Hemlock, who is from series 1. _

_A/N: This idea struck me, it is going to be a by feel story. It is possible that the idea came to me from DrawMeASheep's work, who I am not going to plagiarise in any way shape or form. Cyriac is based on a number of characters. One is Hemlock, a character from JAG for his skills. Another is actor Matthew McConaughey for the look of the man. Another is based on a man of my own imagination, known as Leopard, a former Delta forces man who served in Somalia and then resigned from the military to work freelance. Lastly, he is hunting a particular person, so for intents and purposes he is also like Dimitri Tushkevich who is owned by Sheep. In this chapter, spoken words in Hebrew will be in italics. I would like to thank EmyPink for all her hard work on being my beta for this story. Thanks Em, I owe you more than once._

_Rating: Rated T for Violence and Language_

_**Tel Aviv, Israel – Present Day**_

The black sedan sped along the slim winding road. It climbed into the far hillier suburbs of the port city. It slowed as it approached an apartment block. The security guard walked out of the small security box. He bent down to look into the dark window of the car. He straightened when he saw who sat within the car. The gate opened and the car passed through the gate. It parked in its allotted space. The figure climbed out of the car. He was a small man, about five feet six inches and weighed roughly sixty-seven kilograms. He was about fifty-six years of age, but still fairly wiry. He pulled a suitcase out of the backseat of the car. He turned and headed in the direction of the lobby.

Reaching the door, he opened it wide and stepped into the well-lit lobby. Nobody was about. This was not something unusual. The apartment block's manager kept much to himself. After all, he had been Mossad before being invalided out. The figure walked to the elevator. The door opened several seconds after his finger had left the call button. The man stepped inside and hit the button for the fifth floor. The doors closed and soft Yiddish music filled the small elevator. The elevator bounced slightly under his feet as it slowed to a stop at the fifth floor.

The man stepped out of the elevator. He paused for a second to take a breath and walked slowly down the hall. He reached the door numbered five-oh-seven. Pulling out his key, he slid it into the lock. The door opened wide and he walked into his apartment.

"_Home, sweet home as Americans would say,"_ the man smiled thinly. His apartment was quiet. His wife had passed away three years ago after a long battle with cancer. He felt lonely when he returned from work nowadays; Hannah had always been there for him. Now his son was studying Archaeology at Oxford and his daughter was married to a young officer in the Air Force. He had seen his children little in the last three years. None of them spoke; their mother had kept the family together. He really wished to see them.

"_Come, let us get some supper on shall we."_ The man shook his head and walked into the kitchen. Suddenly he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He cursed himself for being so slack. Reaching into the fridge, he slowly pulled out the small Walther PPK. The weapon was his back up. He would have been dead had he tried to reach for the Jericho 941 at the small of his back. He whirled around.

"_Shalom, Elan,"_ the shadow said, walking slowly into the half-light of the kitchen. He was a tall man with dark brown hair and olive skin…every part of him the everyday Israeli man. Save for two things. His eyes were sky blue, giving him a crazed look. His eyes were quite unusual, although somewhere down the line of ancestors there was European blood in his genetics. He also carried a scar that ran horizontally down the right hand side of his face, from his eyebrow to his chin. It gave the man a scary look, as if he were quite mad.

"_Cyriac!" _Deputy Director Jacob Elan gasped, startled for a second. He noted the grimace of the younger man as he called him by his former codename. He did not lower the gun. _"You gave me a shock, Officer Korah! What are you doing here?"_

The old man had been warned about this man. He was a traitor. Korah was a former Mossad Officer. Rumour had it that the Director of Mossad, Chaim David, had sent his daughter, Ziva, to kill Korah in Montenegro last year. The scar had been from his escape, but that was only rumour. Joel Korah was now a freelance agent. He still sent a lot of Intel to Mossad. It was genuinely good, but few trusted it. Some claimed like Deputy Director Yossi Asshur and Colonel Michael Bashan did that he was a double agent working for the highest bidder. Korah was a livewire agent; The man had been a _Kidon_ operative, trained specially for assassination. He fulfilled missions that no one else would take. His last official Mossad mission was the death of Arafat. So good was he that Korah made it look like Arafat had passed away from natural sickness? This is what Korah could do, but only when it suited him to do so.

"_Was Officer Korah, I am no longer and I would advise putting the weapon down, Elan. It is quite useless. If you reach for the Jericho at your back, You'll be dead before it comes free,"_ Korah said, the gunmetal silenced South African Mamba 9mm in his hand. _"I want information!"_

Elan knew he was dead, the Walther felt lighter than normal. Korah was good, very good. _"Why should I tell you anything? I'm as good as dead as soon as I tell you what you want to know?"_

Cyriac grinned, the scar that ran down his face distorted slightly so that he looked truly maniacal. _"You have family, yes?"_

Elan nodded, slowly beginning to understand where this conversation was going. "_Yes, a son and a daughter."_

"_Yes, Joshua and Sarah." _Korah grinned. The silenced weapon in his hand slowly rose to point at Deputy Director Elan's head._ "If you do not tell me, then I will kill them both once you yourself are dead. Do we understand each other?"_

"_Yes,"_ Elan replied hoarsely. To save the lives of his children, he would tell this man everything. David had been right that he was a traitor, Asshur and Bashan had been right also. He worked for the highest bidder, but he was working for himself right now. Elan had no idea why Korah was, but he was looking to find out important information, important enough for him to enter a major Mossad housing facility to find it out. _"One condition!"_

"_Yes, what is that Elan?"_ Korah asked, surprised for a moment.

"_That if I tell you what you want to know, you will leave my children alone,"_ Elan said, his voice echoing determination. Korah nodded at him. This was something he could respect in the older man.

"_Very well."_ Joel Korah dropped a book on the kitchen bench and placed his hand on it. _"I swear on the Torah of our forefathers that if you tell me what I want to know, I will not harm your children."_

Elan felt at peace with his decision. _"What is it that you wish to know?"_

"_Ziva David!"_ Korah spat the words out as if they were poison. _"Where is she?"_

"_I would have thought with all your connections you would know." _Elan realised that the rumours were true. Ziva had been sent to kill Korah.

"_I have to double check somehow,"_ Korah said grimly. "_Now tell what you know, Elan!"_

This man was feeding all his devotion into killing her as a last act of vengeance upon David, Elan realised as he spoke. _"Washington DC, she has been working as liaison to NCIS."_

"_NCIS?"_ Korah asked quizzically. _"What is that?"_

"_Naval Criminal Investigative Service,"_ Elan replied.

"_You give me these details to spare your children from me,"_ Korah asked, looking at Elan intently with those piercing sky blue eyes of his. _"Yet you are willing to sacrifice David's bitch, why?"_

"_Because, I know who will win,"_ Elan said quietly. The harsh cough of a silencer broke the silence after the statement. The bullet smashed through Elan's head between the eyes. A large amount of blood spattered on to the refrigerator.

"_Do you indeed? You were my instructor. I respect you implicitly. I will keep my promise to you, old man,"_ Korah muttered as he walked through the kitchen, leaving the dead man to lie in his own blood.

He entered the bathroom, a figure sat gagged on the seat. He had a large bruise down the side of his face and blood dripped from beneath the tape over his mouth. He shook violently. Korah raised the weapon to the man's face and squeezed the trigger. _"Now it is time to find the bitch and kill her once and for all!"_

_A/N: What do you think? Please read and review._


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I don't own any characters that appear in the TV show. They all belong to Belisarius Productions and CBS. The original characters are all mine, I own them._

_A/N: Originally this was going to be a McGiva, but I changed my mind and reverted to a Tiva. I have changed my mind once again, Ziva and a FBI agent pairing. I haven't worked out his name or anything. It's not going to be Sacks, heck no. Half-French American FBI agent. No, I didn't get the idea from the show. I have my dad to thank for that. Once again, I thank my friend and beta, EmyPink, for her help on this story as well as many others._

_**Washington DC, NCIS Headquarters, two days later**_

Tony stepped out of the elevator; he was early for a change today. He'd woken up at five in the morning, someone had started to renovate the apartment next door. He'd decided to make an early start this morning. Tony walked into the bullpen, dumped his gear behind his desk and booted up his computer.

"Morning Director!" Tony smiled as Jenny entered the bullpen.

"Tony!" Jenny nodded at him. "Where's Gibbs?"

"Not here yet, Director," Tony said. Jenny looked concerned. "Anything I can do?"

Jenny smiled, realising that she had been wearing a concerned look on her face. "Not unless you can work a miracle."

"Funny you should mention that…" Tony smiled as he started. Jenny gave him a smile and left the bullpen.

Jenny climbed the stairs to her office and stopped. "Tony!"

"Yes, Director." Tony turned and looked up.

Jenny smiled at him. "Would you tell Gibbs that I want to see him when he gets in!"

Tony nodded. "Yeah, sure."

Jenny nodded and disappeared up stairs while Tony studied his emails. Especially one on particular, the one from Denise, his latest girlfriend, who he had to admit was steaming hot in a Angelina Jolie way. He grinned as he read it.

"What's so funny?" Ziva lent over to pear at Tony's computer screen. Tony looked up and glared, but he stopped suddenly. Ziva looked as if she hadn't had a wink of sleep in two days.

"You okay?" Tony asked, his face etched with concern.

Ziva shook her head, trying to smile. "Never mind me, who's stud muffin?"

Tony gave her his customary sarcastic laugh, "Oh, you're so funny, Zee-vah." He watched as she walked around to her desk.

Ziva opened her desk, pulled some aspirin from a drawer, opened a bottle of water and poured some of the contents into a glass sitting on the desk. Next, she put two tablets of aspirin into the glass of water and as she watched the aspirin dissolve, she rubbed her temples.

The concern in Tony's voice returned. "You sure you're okay, Ziva?"

"If I wasn't, I wouldn't have told you, Di-Noz-zo," Ziva snapped. She regretted it even as she said it. Tony face had grown stern as he gazed at the computer. "I'm sorry, Tony. I'm glad you care."

"Who said anything about caring," he bit at her.

"Not me, DiNozzo," Gibbs said as he walked into the bullpen. He placed the cup of coffee on his desk. "What have we got?"

"Well, we know Ziva's got PMS at the moment…" Gibbs and Ziva both glared at his biting remark. "McGee hasn't…" At that precise moment, McGee burst through the door that lead to the stairs and raced into the bullpen.

"Sorry I'm late, boss," McGee said as he dropped his gear behind his desk. Gibbs stared at him. McGee gave him an excuse, not that it was that good. "Traffic was crazy today; some of the traffic lights were out of action!"

Tony interrupted, "Anyway, as I was saying…" He looked at McGee because of his interruption. "The Director wants to see you in her office, boss!"

Gibbs grabbed his cup of coffee. "About time. Took you long enough, Tony!"

"What? I'm suppose to know everything…" Tony said insulted. Gibbs stopped and stood toe to toe with him.

"You want to keep complaining, DiNozzo?" Gibbs growled, "I'm happy to arrange a tour onboard a Frigate with no females for six months."

"I'm okay, boss," Tony backed down.

"I thought so!" Gibbs was unmistakably pissed off.

Gibbs climbed the stairs and Tony slumped into his chair. He held his head in his hands and sighed. "What a crap start!"

XXXXXXXX

Gibbs walked straight into Jenny's office and slammed the door behind him. "Grrr, damn it, Jen. We should be telling the rest of the team!" Gibbs slumped into a chair in front of her desk.

"Ziva and I are the only ones who know." Jenny watched as Gibbs continued to vent.

"DiNozzo tested my strength today. McGee was running late. And Ziva she looks like she's the walking dead!" Gibbs sighed. "Why…Jen? Why does this guy pose such a serious threat?"

"I can't tell you anymore than I know, Jethro." Jenny looked pained. "I'm sorry that both you and Ziva are at the end of your tethers."

Gibbs shoulders drooped. "All I can say is, I hope either Mossad or the FBI find him. Otherwise…" Gibbs sighed, "Otherwise…you might lose more than just Ziva!"

XXXXXXXX

The elevator opened and both McGee and Tony looked up from their work on a cold case.

McGee looked over at Tony. "Who's the guy with Fornell? I've never seen him before!"

"Me either, Probie." Tony looked at the McGee in return.

Fornell walked into the bullpen. "DiNotzo, Officer David and Agent McGee. Where's Gibbs?"

"Up with the Director," Ziva answered him. Fornell turned his attention to her and Ziva gave him a look to say nothing.

Ziva's eyes flickered to the man who stood leaning on the partition next to her desk. He was fairly well built, quite handsome, with brown hair and eyes. Ziva knew this man, she had known him from another life. A life that had suddenly and shockingly returned to haunt her.

"What brings you here, Fornell?" Tony asked, taking no notice of the visual exchange between Ziva and the man.

"I'm here to see Gibbs! End of discussion." Fornell stonewalled all of Tony's attempted questions in one sentence.

"Tobias," Gibbs called from the landing of the stairs, "Ziva with me!"

Fornell gestured to his man to follow. "Agent Survage with me!"

Fornell, Survage and Ziva ascended the stairs, leaving Tony and McGee to look bewilderedly after them.

_A/N: Poor Tony and McGee, they so don't know what the hell is going on. But don't worry, that's not the half of it. Please read and review. Enjoy_


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: This story is based on NCIS, which I don't own, so don't hurt me. The original characters in this story are all mine, so don't hurt them either._

_A/N: Okay, so we will see where this goes. Thanks to Emypink for her skills once again in betaing my work, thanks Em. Please read and review, Kandon._

Ziva, Fornell and Lucas Survage walked into Director Jenny Shepard's office. She rose from her desk and gestured to the table.

"Please be seated," she instructed. Gibbs was already seated at the table, so Fornell sat down next to him. Ziva sat at one end and Lucas sat at the other. Jenny walked over and closed the door.

"Now, as you probably know, not all of Gibbs' team know about the threat to Ziva …" Jenny didn't even look at Gibbs, she knew he was glaring at her. "I felt that they are not going to be threatened in anyway…this is my decision!"

Ziva had looked at Gibbs questioningly, but said nothing. Now her attention turned towards Jenny.

"Why?" Ziva asked, slight worry on her face. "Cyriac is after me. He could use them to get to me!"

Jenny sighed as she sat down. "According to information I received from Israel," she paused and looked at Lucas, "and the FBI, they have reports of Cyriac off in a crowd of people going after targets."

"He can change tactics, Jen," Gibbs said, looking at her. She avoided his gaze again.

"Agent Gibbs," Lucas said, turning to the older man, "Cyriac has proven that he is only interested in the initial target, nothing more."

"So if a member of my team gets caught in the cross-fire because of this bastard," the menace in Gibbs' voice rose with every word, "then that is acceptable?"

"Jethro!' Jenny said, her voice steady. "I want you to leave now!"

Gibbs rose angrily, glaring at Lucas as he stormed out of the room and slammed the door. Fornell shook his head. Jenny was playing with fire, and both he and Gibbs knew it.

Jenny turned to him. "What's the protection situation for, Ziva?"

"Now wait a minute…" Ziva interrupted sharply.

"Ziva!" Jenny gave her a serious look. "This is something that could save your life." Jenny turned to Fornell. "Continue, Tobias."

"Well, according to Colonel Bashan at the embassy, they have two Mossad operatives on watch around the clock." Fornell started as he looked at Lucas. "The Director of the FBI also thought it prudent that Agent Survage stay here, take on a protective role…"

"Lucas?" Ziva said to the handsome man directly down the other end of the table. "Why?"

"Because he knows Cyriac," Fornell shrugged. "That was the Director's reasoning."

"I agree with the Director of the FBI on this," Jenny said, nodding her approval.

Jenny didn't know this part of Ziva's life; Lucas had been more than a partner or ally … Ziva had saved his life and after that…well, she felt that it would only complicate things more.

Jenny was oblivious as she said, "Lucas will be with you at all times."

Ziva sighed inwardly. "Very well, Director!"

XXXXXXXX

Tony kept his head down as he worked. This afternoon was no time to act up. Gibbs had left the Director's office angrier then he had left for it. He had gone and gotten coffee, but even that had not settled him down. To make matters worse, Tony watched the FBI Agent named Lucas sit and talk discreetly with Ziva. Tony hated to admit it, but he seemed to rival Tony for Ziva's affections and even the banter.

He busied himself with a file and looked over at McGee. "Probie!"

"Yeah, Tony," McGee said, feeling just as uneasy about the situation as Tony did.

"You got that file on the weapon we found at McNab's crime scene?" He asked, loudly enough to let Ziva know he was getting agitated with the new guy she had at her desk.

McGee shook his head. "Sorry, Tony, that would be Ziva."

She looked over at him. "Oh, yes," She handed it to Lucas. "Could you give that to Tony."

"Sure," Lucas nodded as he rose and handed it to Tony. "There you go, slugger."

"Gee, thanks," Tony said antagonistically, earning a glare from Ziva. "Appreciate it, pal." He turned back to his desk and shook head at McGee. "I'll just go and see if Abby can help me out with this."

"Okay," McGee nodded. He could understand why he needed some space. Tony rose and disappeared out of the bullpen and into the elevator, just as Lucas rose from the seat he was sitting on and walked over.

"He okay?" he asked McGee.

"Um, I don't think I should really comment on Tony," McGee said, looking at Ziva for help. She shrugged.

McGee decided to change tactics. "Timothy McGee." He held out his hand.

"Lucas Survage." Lucas accepted his hand. "Good to meet you."

"You here for a while," McGee asked.

Lucas shrugged. "Depends."

"On what?" McGee asked, trying to gauge where this FBI agent was at in regards to why he was here.

Lucas gave him a crooked smile as he returned to the seat he had vacated. "On a lot of things …" Lucas looked at Ziva, who held his gaze. She broke it, something McGee was surprised at. She only ever broke Gibbs' gaze after ten minutes of a battle of wills.

"On everything, I guess," Lucas said as he turned to McGee.

XXXXXXXX

"Its frustrating, Abs," Tony said, letting off all his steam as he walked around Abby's lab. "He sits there as if…she belongs to him." He threw his hands up in frustration. "She doesn't reciprocate and you can tell there is awkwardness there."

"What's with you, Tony?" Abby asked with teasing smile on her face. "Worried you'll lose your chance to get Ziva into bed now that, that FBI agent…who is so smoking hot is here."

Tony glanced at her with a look that he rarely gave her, an angry look. "You're not helping, Abby!"

"What? You expect me to listen to you whinge, Tony," Abby said, walking over and hugging him. "We're all on edge Tony!"

"Sorry, Abs," Tony mumbled into her ear.

"Hey, you know what Gibbs would say," Abby chided.

"Yeah, don't apologise with a few 'F' words thrown in today," Tony said, sitting down on a stool. Abby looked at him surprised.

Tony nodded. "Oh, yeah, he's pissed off. I haven't seen him this pissed since Ari!"

Abby forehead creased with worry. She walked over and hugged Tony from behind. "That doesn't sound good!"

"Yeah," Tony tried a grin, and then he turned to her. "You mind if I stay here until knock off time?"

"Oh, you say the sweetest things." Abby hugged him harder.

XXXXXXXX

The figure sat in a car outside the main gate of the car park. The car had dark and tinted windows, and it would have been unusual if there hadn't been Federal license plates on the car. A guard had walked over earlier to investigate. He had asked to see some ID and had a CIA badge flashed in his face, and then the guard had been told to piss off. Since then, no one had bothered the man who sat watching the car park with binoculars.

He lifted the binoculars to his scarred face so he could concentrate on the employees leaving the NCIS headquarters building. He quickly glanced down at the dossier photos of two people. He looked back up to see them both leaving the headquarters.

He smiled; the English syntax in his voice was very pronounced. "Excellent, right on time. Now which one will make a better target?"

_A/N: Okay, so this is my second really dark fic. The first in a way was Ghostly Threat so we'll see how we go!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: I don't own any characters unfortunately. They are all owned by Belisarius Productions. Except for the original characters, like Cyriac and Lucas Survage. They are all mine. _

_A/N: Okay so it begins! Thank you to Cable Addict for her help in this story it is really appreciated, thanks a lot CA. Please read and review. Kandon_

Tony closed the door of his apartment and dumped his bag, jacket and hat on the floor before dropping on to the couch. He sighed, "Oh today was so shit! And that's saying something." He closed his eyes for a moment before he rose from the couch and walked into the kitchen. He opened the door and reached in for a bottle of Budweiser beer. He pulled the lid of with his bottle opener and walked back to the couch. "I haven't seen Gibbs like that since Ari!" he mumbled to himself before taking a drink of the ice-cold beer.

Hammering on the wall in his next-door neighbours place shook him from his reverie, "What the hell! It's eight-thirty in the evening who in the hell stays late to work on an apartment." Tony rose from the couch and opened the door to his apartment. He staggered out fatigue finally catching up with him as he walked the few steps to the now open door. The radio was blaring as the man in the room hammered a plank of wood into the floor. Tony banged loudly on the door, "Hey buddy!"

The man turned, a scar ran down his face over his eye and down to his jaw, "Yeah!" Tony looked at him for a moment and then realised it was bad manners to stare.

"You working late isn't helping me relax," Tony said loudly over the radio.

The man rose and turned to him, "Sorry, I needed to finish this job otherwise I don't get paid."

"Are you going to be long?" Tony asked him as the man walked over. The man smiled at him, the smile didn't reach his cold blue eyes. That made Tony shiver involuntary as he waited for the man to reply.

"No, not too long I think," The man shrugged as he picked up a saw and hefted it before turning back to what he was doing. "I'll knock on the door when I'm done."

"Okay," Tony said uneasily, "Thanks!" Tony turned and walked back out of the apartment. He reached his own apartment, glad to be away from the work man in his neighbour's apartment. He opened the door and closed it quickly. "I need a shower!" He mumbled to himself. Then walked quickly through the apartment towards his bathroom, he opened the door and places the bottle of beer on the bench top. He turned to the shower and turned on the taps, stripped quickly and stepped in sighing and closed his eye as the hot water began its relaxing work.

Fifteen minutes later his bathroom was steamy as he stepped out and wrapped himself in a towel. He picked up the beer and took a long sip of it. He put the bottle down, "Damn Ziva! He muttered and he sunk his head below his shoulders as he looked into the empty basin, "Why does she have to be so intoxicating?" He looked up and wiped the steam from the mirror.

He froze in and instant. Standing right behind him with an evil grin on his face stood the man with the hideous scar that ran horizontally over his eye and down his face. The man who had made him feel so sacred and fearful. The man nodded, "Yes Agent DiNozzo she has that effect on most men…even when she isn't trying!" Tony eye rove towards the razor on the basin. The click of a hammer cocking, the distinctive noise audible behind him just before the muzzle of a silenced weapon press against the base of his head. The man gave a tut tut sound, "No Agent DiNozzo, that would not be smart!"

Tony gave him his best glare, "What do you want from me?"

The grin widened to become something more maniacal, "You Tony, I want Ziva to loose you!"

"You have the wrong guy!" Tony muttered to himself, "You want a guy by the name of Survage!" The slight movement from the man's head behind him told Tony he had freely given away information, "Shit!" He muttered.

"So the bitch was right!" The said smiling even more, way beyond sadistic, "Two birds with one stone, how lovely!" Tony stood there, waiting for the shot to come, the man could tell it must have been innate, the man concentrated on him again, "I promise this won't hurt too much!" The barrel of the weapon crashed against Tony's skull, the skin splitting so that blood dribbles out of the wound. "Not much anyway, Tony!" The man said as Tony slumped to the floor.

XXXXXXXX

"Zee, I didn't choose to become your shadow that was the Director's idea," Lucas said, shaking his fists in frustration. Ziva was making him frustrated and annoyed. She always had been like that, he had never liked to be picked on for little things, much less minor things that made no difference. It was one reason why they had only spent one night together. Lucas would admit the sex had been amazing but, she frustrated him too much and both had mutually gone their separate ways.

"I know Luke," Ziva said as she walked out of her bedroom. She shoved the knife she was carrying back into its sheath at the small of her back, and then her hand came to rest on the SIG pistol on her belt. She sat down on her couch and pulled the weapon apart for cleaning.

"I hate it when you do that!" Lucas muttered as he watched as Ziva began to clean again. "It's clean!"

"Lucas," Ziva snapped, glaring at him. "I don't need this right now!"

"Sorry!" Lucas said walking away and sitting down across from Ziva. He closed his eyes, his hand moving to his chest. The pain was a numbing feeling, it was an unexplainable symptom. He sat letting out a small breath, "Oh God!"

"Are you alright Luke," Ziva looked up, yet there was a no hint of concern in her eyes.

Lucas smiled in pain, "Yeah, comes from our friend Korah!"

"The chest wound, yes," Ziva looked at him with now a hint of concern.

"I'll be fine, besides…" Lucas started he was interrupted. By a knock on the door, Lucas rose, hand on his weapon on his hip. He slowly moved to the door. "Who is it?"

"Bashaan," The reply came.

Lucas looked at Ziva who nodded. Lucas opened the door and the older Israeli walked into the apartment. "Ziva!" He nodded to the woman sitting on the couch, then nodded at Lucas, "Survage!" Michael Bashaan sighed and sat down on a seat, "Rebecca has disappeared!" Ziva looked at Lucas, Rebecca was one of the Mossad operatives that was assigned to the protection of Ziva. Bashaan shook his head, "The bastard has got her! He's after someone else!"

_A/N: Okay so I'm hoping the next chapter will be very dark, a torture scene. But we'll see._


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that appear at in the TV show. They are all owned by Belisarius productions and CBS. The original characters that appear in this story are all mine._

_A/N: Hope you're all enjoying this story so far. Thanks to Cable Addict for her help. It is much appreciated. This is a revised version, after I felt that the language was too much! Please read and review and enjoy, Kandon._

Tony painfully opened his eyes, his head throbbed and the cut on his head began to bleed again. He shook his head trying to force the pain from his mind. He felt spaced out, and not in control of himself.

His head cleared, yet the throbbing pain remained. He shook slightly as he realised that he was hand cuffed to a chair, and that the chair was bolted to the floor. His feet were tied to the legs of the chair, and his wrists were chained to the armrest. His head was yanked back by his hair, and the man with the hideous scar appeared, "Good Morning Agent DiNozzo!"

Tony spat at the man. The shock of 10,000 volts entering his body made him shake for a few moments, tunnel vision began. He was going to black out. The pain of the tazer making him want to puke. Then as suddenly as it had started the man pulled the small tazer away from Tony's stomach, "You continue to be rude Tony and I will have no other choice! This is a warning!"

Tony jolted in the chair, angrily trying to free himself from the handcuffs and rope that held him in place. Then the world became clearer, the man stood next to another person who was chained to a similar chair. The man smiled manically, "Ah!" He flicked on a light above the person, it illuminated her.

"Ziva?" Tony whispered. "_What the hell! How did he get her? She's not stupid enough to get caught like me! Where's Survage or Gibbs or even McGee? She's sitting right in front of me in plain sight!" _He thought.

"Here is the deal Tony!" The man said sounding warm and friendly. "You provide me with information and you live. You can both walk away." His eyes and face turned to ice, "You tell me nothing or something that is a lie and I will start with her knees, then her elbows, shoulders, wrists and finally her head."

"You son of a bitch," Tony yelled angrily, "I will kill you with my bare hands, you arrogant bastard…" The man shook his head and walked over to Tony. The tazer pressed against his stomach and Tony jolted around in the chair for another thirty seconds. The feeling of wanting to puke his guts out over powered his resolve and he puked. The puke splashing down on to his pants and shirt.

"I told you to be nice," The man said sweetly, placing a callused hand on the side of Tony's head. "Don't force me to do something you will regret!" Tony glared in defiance. The punch came seconds later smashing across Tony's right eye socket, there was a slightly audible crack. Tony's head rocked back, his head hitting the wall behind him. The cut to the back of his head opening up again after it impacted the wall, Tony felt the blood slowly crawl down the back of his head and down his neck. The man moved closer again, "Remember you're playing with Ziva's life here!" The man turned and walked back to Ziva who was now screaming hysterically under the tape that covered her mouth. The man smiled sadistically at her, "You never did listen!" His hand smashed across her face twisting her head to one side and causing her nose to bleed and trickle down over the tape that covered her mouth.

"Leave her alone!" Tony shouted at him, he felt his heart being ripped from his chest as he watched the man walk around behind Ziva and whisper something into her ear. Tony's eyes made contact with Ziva's, "We can make it Ziva! Just trust me this time!"

The scarred faced man smiled manically at him, and then ran his hand through Ziva's hair, making Tony's skin crawl, "Tell me what you know of Cyriac?"

Tony gave him a confused look, the question made no sense "What the hell…I don't know what you're talking about?"

"Tell me the truth or I will start with her knees," The man said pulling a JERICHO I.P.S.C. pistol from his belt. Digging the barrel hard into Ziva's knee, making her produce a yelp that was muffled by the tape covering her mouth.

"I don't know anything about…what was it called…Cyriac!" Tony said honestly, his face bewildered.

"Wrong answer," The man replied, "Cyriac is a person!" The muzzle of the JERICHO pressing down on Ziva's right knee. The knee exploded as the bullet smashed through the knee cap. Ziva writhed in the chair, the pain causing shock that strangled any cry that would have followed usually, the blood gushed from what had once been a knee, that was now only a bloody mangled mess of flesh and bone. Ziva's screams finally came, but they were muffled by the tape.

"Damn it!" The man grinned but didn't let up he could see the anger and pain from what he had just done, even as Tony screamed loudly at him, "You bastard... you son of a bitch!"

The JERICHO's muzzle pressed against Ziva's other knee and turned it into a bloody mess as the bullet struck home again, the bone shattering and blood and flesh now covering the lower half of her thighs. Tony gagged as he witnessed the destruction the second time. He was no longer in a dream but a nightmare, except this was truly real, even as he watched he felt like his heart was being torn in two.

Ziva fainted, her eyes rolled up and her head slumped in the chair. The man holstered his weapon, grabbed her by the hair and began to slap her. Her face looked marked and red and now more blood dripped from her face as new wounds began to appear. Ziva came round seconds later, screaming in pain underneath the tape. The man turned, "You didn't think I would do it did you? You think I'm playing with you! Now I will ask again. What do you know of Cyriac?"

Tony felt numb he could no longer comprehend the man, all he could do was look directly at Ziva, tears now running down his face, "Zee-vah, look at me. Stay with me! Please stay with me here."

"I will count to ten," The man said calmly and heartlessly, "If you don't tell me in that time I will blow her elbows off! Ten!"

"Son of bitch!" Tony turned on the man his eyes alight with a renewed fire. He took his eyes away from the bloody sight that was Ziva for a moment, even as he made the next pronouncement tears ran down his face, he was past normal anger he had entered a fury that no one had seen before, something between utter devastation and utter destruction. "I am going to kill you! I swear to god!"

"Nine, eight, seven," The man continued to count calmly and without remorse.

Tony turned back to Ziva, the tears in her eye now blocking what she could see of him. He gasped as he tried to stem his own tears and anger, he spoke as gently as he could to her, "Zee-vah, please stay with me, we're going to get through this!"

"Three, two, one!" The scarred man finished, before pulling the JERICHO out and pressing the muzzle of the weapon into the soft part of the arm. "You brought this on yourself!" Blood sprayed from the entry and exit wound as the bullet tore through the arteries and elbow joint. Blood sprayed the man, the blood also covering Ziva's shirt.

"Ahhhh!" Tony shouted as he threw himself at his restraints, the anger taking him again beyond normal limits "I'm going to kill you!"

Ziva had gone limp again, unconsciousness taking over; the blood loss wasn't helping and the awful pain that was sending countless messages to her brain. Tony watched her in sudden stricken silence, his heart dying with every blow that was about to come. Scar face holstered his weapon and slapped her again. Blood trickled out from under the tape as the inside of her mouth finally began to bleed out. Ziva returned to life screaming, Tony could only imagine the pain she was going through. His mouth was filling with bile with every moment of time that passed by. He spat it in the direction of the man. The man turned on him the tazer never came instead the weapon cut across his forehead causing a deep gash, the trickle of blood slowly descending down his face, running down his lips he spat the salty tasting liquid out as quickly as it entered.

"Ah, you going to tell me now or not!" The man lent over his now bloodied form.

"I swear to god I don't know anything about anyone named Cyriac!" Tony said calmly trying to think of a solution to end this interrogation for both he and Ziva. "You asking just now, was the first time I've ever heard of the name Cyriac!"

Scar face shook his head, in a nice tone that believed everything that had just been said, "I understand that Tony, really, I do but you see this has to end!" The weapon appeared in his hand and pressed against Ziva's temple. He looked down at Ziva, her partially glazed eyes widened as she comprehended the end of her life. "We will meet again in another life I think!"

"You bastard!" Tony roared at the top of his lungs as he yanked hard at his restraints, no longer caring about the pain, or the blood that now was running down his wrist from the hideous chaffing he was causing himself. Tony went limp after struggling for twenty seconds. His voice pleading, "Look I want to help you…I really do. I can help get this information on Cyriac…but you have to do the right thing!"

"I am doing the right thing!" Scar face replied softly, the hammer on the weapon clicked as it cocked.

"No, No, No!" Tony shouted, throwing himself as close as he could, "Ziva," She looked at him with glazed eyes as if she had no understanding of what was going on except for the pain. "I love you!" Tony whispered. The weapon discharged and even from the distance of where he was, the spray of her blood hit him in the face. Tony remembered the horror of another partner's death coming back to him, "Kate!" He choked, "I failed Kate, I failed again, I…" Tony began to cry, sobs wracked his body as his self-control and the mask that everyone saw, fell away. To reveal nothing more then a kid who's life until NCIS had been dark and forbidding, whose life had just been plunged into nothingness again.

The man knelt down beside Ziva and began to pray something in Hebrew. Tony watched as the man who had been executioner now became an orthodox slash rabbi slash priest, to the dead woman. The man rose and placed his hand on the woman's face, closing her sightless eyes. Tony watched as his finger dug into the underneath of Ziva chin. "You touch her anymore and I'll…" The prosthetics came away from Ziva's face to reveal not Ziva but another woman entirely different.

"Rebecca Sachar, I leave you in peace," The man said to the dead woman, "I'm sorry we parted in the way we did. You were following orders from that bastard David; I was doing what I set out to do!"

"You dirtbag," Tony snarled as the man walked over to him. The man produced a needle and a syringe, filling it with a clear substance. The man shook his head.

"No Anthony," he said, a more than heartless smile played across his face. "I am Cyriac!" Tony mouth opened but no words came out, he sat stunned. The man continued the heartless words that followed making Tony go numb, "You caused more pain to yourself then I ever could have…for that I thank you!" The needle entered Tony's arm. Tony winced for a few moments before his head dropped to his chest and the world went black.

_A/N: If anyone is familiar with Mission Impossible 3 but I could be wrong it might be MI2, anyway you would know where part of this scene comes from. I hope it wasn't too distressing, Kandon_


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters that appear from the TV show. They all belong Belisarius productions and CBS. I do own the original characters that appear in this story, but if you wish to use them at all then please ask._

_A/N: We're not out of the darkness yet. Once again a big thanks to Cable Addict for her help, thanks a lot. Please read and review, it's great to get your thoughts and it makes me want to write more. Thanks Kandon!_

He cracked his eyes open, his head throbbed and his eyes felt like were on fire. Tony shook his head in an effort to clear the fuzziness from his eyes, but it was no good. Every time he tried to move, he felt like his head moved quicker then his brain, resulting in nausea. Almost as if he was spaced out or high on something. Tony closed his eyes again, his nightmare was still real. He opened them again, and started to access the situation.

He licked his dry and cracked lips, tasting the saltiness of blood on his tongue. He could vaguely remember the final minutes of his previous moment of consciousness. He guessed that now his right eye was now puffy and swollen and no doubt would become a black eye. His right eye felt really painful, and if he had to guess, he would say that his eye socket had sustained a break somewhere. He supposed that the gash on his head had bled out over his face and his captor had not even bothered to clean it off. He examined his surroundings, or tried to, as his eyes were playing tricks on him. He was still tied to the chair; his wrists and hands were now caked with dried blood, and stung every time he moved. He lowered his head, speaking to himself, "What the hell did you get yourself into now DiNozzo?"

"_DiNozzo!"_ _Gibbs walked into the light that surrounded him._

Tony looked at Gibbs his eyes making out the man clearer then Tony wished him to be, "Yeah Boss!"

"You failed Tony!" Gibbs snapped at him, "I thought I taught you better then that!" 

"Boss, why didn't you warn me about this? I would've been pre…" Tony started, but Gibbs cut him off.

"You disappoint me Tony!" Gibbs growled as he stepped closer, his face inches from Tony's, "You don't even deserve a slap! How could you ever think Ziva would be as stupid as you?"

"I saw what I saw Boss!" Tony snarled back at him, his anger getting the better of him, "I'm not you! I'll never be you! I wouldn't want to be you!"

Gibbs' face betrayed a hint of sadness and then as quickly as Gibbs had appeared he faded into nothingness.

"Boss, I'm sorry," Tony's heart ached for the one person who he tried to emulate and who he admired so much, "Come back!"

"I thought you were a man Tony." Ziva walked in from another direction, "You disappoint me." Ziva shook her head.

"You don't know what you're saying Zee-vah," Tony snapped at her, then gestured with his head at the empty chair which had held Rebecca Sachar who had been done up like Ziva with a prosthetic face. "I thought that was you! I was trying to save both our asses, what did you expect me to do!"

Ziva laughed at him mockingly, "Oh yes Tony I'm that stupid to let Cyriac capture me! You are a fool!" Ziva lent in to him and smiled suggestively, "I'm glad that Lucas is back! He really knows how to pleasure me! Something you'll never know!"

Tony's anger exploded again, "I tried to save another person instead of my own skin. You know what Ziva, screw you!"

Ziva face changed from suggestive to one of sadness as a tear running down her face, "Shalom Tony!" She disappeared from sight just as Gibbs had, just moments before. 

"Ziva!" Tony face contorted as he realised she was gone, he hung his head not wanting to let anyone see the tears forming, he was a man after all. "Damn it! I love you Ziva! I want you to know that!" He shouted to the shadows.

"Well maybe she'd appreciate me…and not have to put up with the crap you throw at her," McGee said pulling his sun glasses from his face, "You know a man with money, a Porsche, someone who doesn't jump from one woman to the next!"

Tony looked up anger now contorted his face, "You so much as even think of going along that path McGeek, and I'll kill you, I'm not joking!"

McGee laughed at Tony, "What are you going to do Tony! It's obvious that you're going to die here! I think Ziva and I would make a great couple!" McGee slid his glasses on to his face giving Tony a grin.

"Why you son of a…" Tony started jealously, thrashing at his chair once again oblivious to the chaffing and renewed bleeding that this was causing. Tony stopped thrashing, "McGee help me please! I don't want to die here!"

"_I can't Tony," McGee said now transforming into his normal self, "You have to do this on your own, but I believe in you!" He fades away as fast as he first appeared._

"Thanks Probie," Tony whispers calmly.

_Abby stood in front of him a worried look creasing face, "Oh Tony," She burst into tears, seeing his current situation. "I wish…I wish!"_

Tony looked at her worried, "What Abs?"

"_I wish I could help you," Abby whispered, as tears ran down her face, "But this is your task…I can't interfere!" She began to fade._

"My task? How the hell am I to complete this?" Tony asked depressively as he sunk low in the chair, shivering involuntarily.

"_Are you okay Tony," Abby managed to ask, looking at him with concern._

"No Abs! I'm not I'm tied up, bleeding, beaten and I'm talking to people who aren't here!," Tony snapped at her, he shrunk lower as he saw her eyes bring fresh tears to her face, "Look Abs I'm sorry!"

_Abby gave him a hard look before she disappeared back into obscurity. "You look terrible Anthony!" Ducky said at Tony's shoulder. He walked around to face Tony, "Yes just as I suspected, you have a fever, you're dehydrated, you lack sleep, those lacerations to your wrists aren't good, neither is that gash on the back of your head or that gash to your forehead. They will get infected if not treated!"_

Tony rolled his eyes, "What do you suggest Ducky? As you can see I'm a little tied up right now!"

_Ducky paid no attention to this slight problem__ and began to recite an old story, "You know this reminds me…"_

"Ducky!" Tony barked angrily, "I don't want to hear stories I want to be free! Can't you understand that, freedom?"

_The old man looked more fragile by the second, "I'm sorry Tony, but I can't carry your burdens anymore…I'm too old…yes too old indeed." With that Ducky disappeared back into the dark as if he had never been in Tony's presence._

"Duck? Abby? McGee? Ziva? Boss? All of you I need you, I'm nothing without you!" Tony whispered to the darkness. Despair gripped him like a vice, refusing to let go of his heart. "Please!"

Cyriac walked out of the darkness, his face grave as he walked over to Tony's right shoulder, "They have all deserted you Tony! They care nothing for you! You are all alone in this world, and even dead you will never see Kate or Paula! You will die alone, and never know the touch that you dream of feeling." A syringe and vial appeared in his hand; he emptied the contents into the syringe, carefully, to make sure that there were no air bubbles in the syringe. "You are all mine!" Cyriac replied simply as he pressed the syringe into Tony's vein and injected with the liquid.

_A/N: Okay dark or just melodramatic, your comments would be welcome. Kandon_


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters that appear in the TV show they are all owned by Belisarius Productions and CBS. I wish I did but I don't, I do however own the original characters that appear in this story. _

_A/N: Okay so this is my first real look at an angst type fic, so please bear with me. A special thanks to Cable Addict for her help so far in this fic, so thank you. Enjoy and please read and review. Kandon_

Lucas tried not to watch as Ziva busied herself in the kitchen. He remembered the last time that had happened. They had been in Paris, the night he had been discharged from the hospital. That night he remembered, had been some of the most satisfying sex he had ever had. He hadn't even initialised it that night. Now it felt that it was happening again, but more than he rather cared to admit, Ziva was…bewitching.

Lucas rose and walked to Ziva's bookshelf, he loved reading so it wasn't an unusual thing for him to do. He slowly scanned the list of books in her shelf, most of it was in Hebrew and he'd never learnt to read Hebrew. He finally found a book that was in English and pulled it from the shelf. _Deep Six_ the title read on the cover, Lucas flipped it over to read the plot. He read it over and grinned to himself, then looked at Ziva, "Any good?"

"What?" Ziva looked at him no comprehending what was being asked.

"This book by Thom E. Gemcity," Lucas said flourishing the book in his hand, "I always wanted to read it but I haven't ever gotten a chance."

Ziva moved quickly towards him, McGee's supposed non-characterisation of her easily revealing her true feelings every time she read the book. It was like McGee could get inside her head and he didn't even know it. "Um, it's alright…a little realistic yes?"

"Realistic! I think what you mean is unrealistic, remember it's a work of fiction!" Lucas rolled his eyes at her as she advanced towards him, "You still have trouble don't you?"

"Just wait until you hear Tony correct me," Ziva muttered as she reached for the book, "He drives me up the stall!"

"Hey!" Lucas said as Ziva's hand seized the book, he didn't let go. They pressed close, Lucas inhaling the sweet aroma of the Haviar Christian Number Five she wore, his green eyes locked with her chocolate brown ones. Their breathing quickened, being this close after such a long time. Ziva was quick to let go, Lucas would have let go a second later if she hadn't. He grinned at her for a second, trying to defuse the sudden awkwardness "It's driving me up the wall Ziva, honestly you need some help with your sayings!"

"Whatever Luke!" Ziva said stepping back from him, taking control of her breathing. His ability to arouse her hadn't diminished. She changed the subject, "Does chicken lasagne sound okay?"

"Um yeah sure," Lucas said taking a deep breath. He would have kissed her at that moment if she hadn't back away. It was feeling more like Paris then they both were willing to accept. "I'll just be reading down here, if you want a hand don't hesitate to ask!" Lucas said his breath and voice returning to normal as he opened _Deep Six_ and started at Chapter one. _The figure moved through the wooded foreshore towards the beach…_

XXXXXXXX

Tony eye opened, they no longer hurt or felt blood shot. He scanned his surroundings it looked like a hospital room. _But how?_ Tony thought to himself, his arm had an IV drip in it, yet he still felt a little spaced out. His eyes still took their time to catch up with the rest of his head. Then he saw her. Ziva stood looking out the window, and then she turned and smiled at him. "Shalom Tony!"

Tony looked at her warily, "How do I know you're the real Ziva!"

"Tony when have I lied to you?" Ziva asked as she started walking towards him. She went around the foot of the bed, so that she was looking down at him. "You had me worried, I don't worry easily, particularly about you strong guy!"

"Tough guy, Zee-vah, Tough guy," Tony laughed; she was indeed right here, and real.

"Whatever!" She sighed and sat down.

"Where's Gibbs?" Tony asked, looking around the hospital room. "McGee and Abby? How did you find me so quickly?"

Ziva gave him a shrug; "I don't know…Gibbs left me here with you. He was muttering about some Cyriac person. I haven't seen McGee and Abby…" Tony flinched at the name; Ziva placed a hand on his cheek, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah!" Tony tired to sound cheerful, maybe too cheerful he thought. "I've got a great nurse and I think I know what I'd love to play…" Tony face went from smiling to something that looked like Horror, "Did I just say that!"

Ziva grinned at him suggestively, "Well you know we're both adults!" She smiled even more as she took his hand and placed it on her thigh. Then she bent down and kissed him hungrily; reminding Tony of that night they had spent undercover in that hotel room. She broke off the kiss and unbuttoned the shirt she was wearing.

Something about what was happening felt uncomfortable, he liked what was happening but something in his mind was ringing alarm bells. "Why do you all of a sudden want me?"

Ziva smiled as she now slid out of her jeans, "I always wanted you Tony!" Climbing onto him and pressing herself down on him, she gave him a question look as she took his hands in hers and guided him. "You want me too don't you?"

The door crashed open, Tony's head twisted towards the door the only thing outside the doorframe was darkness. Everything in a sudden instant became clear. His eyes turned to Ziva, the Ziva he was looking at didn't have brown eyes, and they were green. There was a sudden crack from a gun. The bullet impacting into Ziva's skull, blood sprayed the sheets and Tony's face, reminding him of Kate's death. The woman's sightless eyes gazed at him. She became a dead weight and the blood from the kill shot began to steadily bleed out all over him.

"Argh…god how the hell was I so stupid?" Tony gasped as he tried to lift the woman from him, his strength being sapped quickly. The blood making the clothes he wore stick to him like gruesome glue.

"Because you cannot accept that you love Ziva!" Cyriac walked in wearing all black and carrying the JERICHO in his hand. "Because you allow your feelings for her to cloud your every action! Your judgement! You now know pain! And when I finally kill her you will feel nothing, and then my ultimate revenge will be fulfilled!"

"You sick bastard!" Tony eyed Cyriac with malice.

Cyriac smiled and pressed the woman back down on Tony while the JERICHO pressed hard against his temple. He thumbed back the hammer and smiled, "You know the thing about holopoint bullets is that they scatter as soon as they hit the target. Ripping through vital organs and arteries at a whim…mind you if I pulled the trigger now you wouldn't know that it had occurred."

"Do it!" Tony said his courage clouding with the fact that he cared less whether he was alive or dead now. The torture and the images that were now trapped in his brain, from everything that had happened over the past few hours, were causing him to give up on trying to get out alive. This was only making it easier for him to push the bastard over the edge, to allow him peace and comfort in the arms of death. "I wish you would but you don't have the courage!"

Cyriac was equal to the mind game; he released the trigger and slid the JERICHO back into its holster, "No I think I'll have more fun watching you! I will enjoy killing Ziva in front of you! David and his bitch will be no more!"

"David is coming here?" Tony looked at him with surprise and helplessness on his face. Cyriac turned his back on Tony; he began to laugh a deep throated laugh. But it was filled with no warm, it made Tony shiver as Cyriac departed from the room the cold laughter still ringing in his ears long after he had gone.

_A/N: What do you think dark torture or just silly honest opinions please? Kandon._


	8. Chapter 8

_Disclaimer: I don't own any characters that appear on the TV show. They all belong to Belisarius Productions and CBS. The original characters that appear in this story are all mine._

_A/N: Okay just so you know Ziva isn't going to die…if that makes you all feel better. A big thanks to Cable Addict for her help. I really appreciate it. Thanks Kandon _

Ziva tossed and turned in her bed, she was exhausted but she couldn't sleep. She felt warm and sweaty and her hair was matted. Ziva turned to the clock that was on the bedside table. 11:45! She sat up in frustration, usually when she was like this it was because Tony had rubbed her up the wrong way or she couldn't get him out of her head. It wasn't Tony tonight; the man she was thinking about was sleeping on her couch out in the lounge room. "Oh hell, I have to see him!" Ziva snapped at her subconscious and climbed out of her bed. Her purple silk pyjamas clung to her due to the static electricity in the air. She opened the door quietly and gazed out at the open area of the apartment. The light was still on in the kitchen; it shone into the lounge room.

Ziva walked out and crept expertly over to the lounge room. She eyed a strewn long sleeve shirt that was on the floor and the jacket that was hanging on the back of the single seat chair. She sat down on the edge of the couch; the same one Luke was sleeping on, and watched his calm sleeping form. His well toned chest with its scar on the right hand side visible, making her think of Paris all over again. For the first time she noted that his right hand was under his pillow and she smiled to herself, he had developed habits from her. Ziva shuffled on the couch adding some weight to where she was sitting.

In an instant quick as lightning Lucas shot up, Berretta in hand shoving the barrel under Ziva's throat. Ziva looked at him wide-eyed, "Luke!"

Lucas opened his eyes at Ziva's voice, "Oh god, sorry! Force of habit!" As he pulled the Berretta from Ziva's throat and shoved it back under the pillow, and turning back to her

"I could have killed you two minutes earlier!" Ziva smiled at him. Lucas was now the one who looked surprised and horrified at once. "You still are a heavy sleeper!" Lucas smiled at the comment as he sat up, his upper body now totally visible. Ziva felt giddy being so near. "Sorry to wake you," Ziva whispered hoarsely as she rose, "I just couldn't sleep…"

Lucas grabbed her hand in his; he gently pulled her to him. "Don't do that!"

Their eyes met and Ziva turned away quickly, "Don't do what Luke?"

"You're playing with me again!" Luke said lifting her chin so that she was looking at him again, "I hate that! Forget everything just for once! Forget Paris, forget NCIS, and forget everything and everyone else!" His lips brushed Ziva's and then she was kissing him hungrily. Lucas sliding the silk pyjama top off, and then Ziva pushed him away. "What!" Lucas looked at her a little angrily.

"Not here!" Ziva smiled seductively at him.

"Where may I ask?" Lucas eyed her wickedly.

Ziva rose and taking his hand wrapped them around her bare chest. He rose with her and kissed her neck, then her shoulder. Ziva giggled at him, "The bed!" Lucas and Ziva awkwardly walked into the bedroom and the door closed to the sounds of their lovemaking.

XXXXXXXX

Lucas lay on his front on the bed, the morning light drifted slowly over the carpet and the bed. The sound of running water met his ears; aroused slightly by the sound he grabbed his boxers and walked over to the door. It was open a crack and he pushed it open, the patterned glass of the shower spoiling his view of Ziva. "What time did you get up?" He shouted over the noise of the water and exhaust fan.

The outline of Ziva span around to face him, "Oh…sorry Luke, I should have woke you up earlier!"

"You want to answer my question or not?" Lucas grinned at the outline good-naturedly

"The usual time…0500!" Ziva laughed back at him. Lucas was waiting for her next words when the phone rang.

"I'll get it!" He said as he darted out of the bathroom, through the bedroom and out to the kitchen. The phone ringing incessantly as he reached it and picked it up, "Lucas Survage!"

"I want you and Ziva in here this minute, you got that!" Gibbs yelled down. Lucas was about to say something when Gibbs hung up.

"What was that about?" Ziva said smiling at him as she dried her hair with a towel.

"Gibbs!" Lucas sighed, "And he sounds really pissed!"

Ziva shrugged, "He always like that!"

"Well all I can say is that it must be important, because he wants us there right now!" Lucas said shaking his head then he froze. "Oh my god!"

Ziva looked at him concern etched on her face, "What?"

"The Israeli President is meeting the President tomorrow," Lucas said running and grabbing his pants from the bedroom.

"Cyraic wants to kill the Israeli President…that makes no sense Luke," Ziva knew that Korah wasn't interested in political figures they changed like the seasons. Killing the Israeli President wouldn't do anything except make Mossad angrier and send every Kidon hit team after him.

"No not the President!" Lucas said as he raced over to the lounge to pick up his shirt, "Jacob Elan was supposed to be your President's security leader. We got a memo informing us along with the Secret Service that Director David would be his replacement!"

"He didn't tell me!" Ziva's anger now a torrent, "I'm right here and he didn't tell me!"

"Hey Zee," Lucas shook her as hard as he dared, "Don't you see? He wants both of you! Cyriac wants both of you dead at the same time. He's planning to make a hit on your father! Then he's coming after you while your grieving."

"Why didn't he tell me, Luke?" Ziva said wrapping her arms around Lucas' neck. "He could have…his only surviving daughter and he doesn't tell me!"

"He didn't want Cyriac to get a hold of that information!" Lucas held her against him, he kissed her hair and whispered, "He was protecting you!"

"Cyriac knows now," Ziva said angrily, "He knows somehow, that must be the reason Gibbs is pissed!"

Lucas grinned down at her, "Wouldn't surprise me, Zee!"

XXXXXXXX

Ice-cold water running over his body brought Tony to his senses; he was wearing nothing except his boxer shorts. The blood from the woman had washed off, he tried to move and found that he was handcuffed to what seemed to be a shower cubicle. The water made him shiver, he now had no idea why he was being soaked in ice-cold water. He took a gulp of the water, it felt like pins and needles ripping his dry and parched oesophagus up.

"You are wondering yes?" Cyriac appeared from one of the dark corners, "Why I'm soaking you!"

"It did occur to me," Tony whispered as he shivered.

"You had a bout of plague yes?" Cyriac said looking at him with cold, menacing eyes. Tony shivered but said nothing. Cyriac smiled again, "When she sees you, you will be nothing like what you were!" He paused and then spoke again, "You see I decided instead of killing her in front of you…" he smiled, "I decided to kill you in front of her and then kill her…you see you know pain…she does not!"

"But why me?" Tony shook the running water out of his eyes to concentrate on Cyriac.

"Because I'm a sadistic Bastard! Because she loves you! Because you love her! Because you were the easiest target! Because I can!" Cyriac wickedly mocked him as he spoke the reasons.

"I…don't lov…ove her!" Tony shivered the water beginning to cool his body temperature. "I have a girl…" A cough that brought fear to his face rose in his chest.

"That is why I'm doing this!" Cyriac knelt down, placing a hand on Tony's shoulder almost in a fatherly way, but there was nothing fatherly in the voice. "The internal injuries you sustained from the plague will start to take a toll on your body! In the end you will be an emasculated shadow of the man you were!"

"You bastard!" Tony snarled, before the coughs took him. He struggled on, "When Gibbs finds me he'll send you to the darkest pit of hell!"

"We shall see, Anthony!" Cyriac smiled at him, "But I'm sure you'll be there first!"

_A/N: Please review I need to know what you think of it. Thanks_


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from the TV show, they all belong to Belisarius Productions and CBS

_Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from the TV show, they all belong to Belisarius Productions and CBS. I do own the original characters in this story. So go easy on me, please!_

_A/N: Okay as I explained earlier this is not a full on Tiva story…I'm just testing my writing dark stories skill. It's been an interesting progression so far, sorry it's not a happy story. Big thanks to OZNCISLover on NFA and Cable Addict on for both their help on this story. Thanks so much for your help. Please read and review thanks, Kandon_

The elevator doors opened and the first thing that Ziva and Lucas heard as they stepped out was Gibbs' voice at high volume shouting angrily. "I don't care if his cell phone is switched off McGee…you find him or so help me I'll…" Gibbs turned on the two new arrivals, "Took you time David!"

"Traffic delays Gibbs," Lucas offered as way of explanation.

"It's about the Israeli President's arrival here tomorrow isn't it?" Ziva asked as she walked over to Gibbs. "It's about my father isn't it?"

"They've moved the flight forward after the flight details were leaked somehow," Gibbs muttered angrily and walked round and sat at his desk. His eyes looked towards the landing where Jenny stood; "The Director informed me ten minutes ago," Gibbs continued his voice sounding old and tired. Evidently the entire deck of cards told Ziva, McGee and Lucas that Gibbs and Jenny had had another fight.

McGee interrupted the conversation, the receiver on his landline cradled against his ear. "Ah Boss…" Gibbs looked at him; McGee continued not wanting to be yelled at any further, "His cell's ringing!"

"Who's?" Ziva asked with surprise.

"DiNozzo's, I've been trying to reach him all morning," Gibbs muttered again, he sighed and nodded to McGee, "Put it on speaker!"

"DiNozzo?" The voice said, it sounded a long way away and like it had been run over by a bus.

"You better not be lying in someone else's bed DiNozzo because if you are I'll come down there and kick you so hard…" Gibbs started, Tony interrupted very quickly.

"Boss…I'm a little tired up right now…," Tony started before the harsh sound of a chesty cough that Gibbs wished he hadn't heard resounded over the speaker. Someone laughed in the background and Tony coughed again, making Gibbs' blood curdle.

"Agent Gibbs I presume," Gibbs didn't comprehend the new voice, Ziva flinched visibly and Lucas gnashed his teeth as he heard the voice, his hand going to his chest reflexively.

"Who the hell is this?" Gibbs snarled angrily, "And what the hell have you done to DiNozzo?"

"I'm okay boss…," Tony replied before the chest racking cough's took him again. "Let me handle this please you don't…" The sound of hand meeting cheek echoed over the speaker.

"You speak when I tell you Anthony not before! As for your question Agent Gibbs of who the Sheol is this…I'm sure Ziva and Lucas could tell you," The voice replied over the speaker, Gibbs turned to see Ziva's face go white and Lucas hand clenched into tight fists so that his knuckles went white.

"It's Yoel Korah," Ziva said whispering. Gibbs made a motion for McGee to start tracing the call.

"Ah, Ziva! You remember me, is that weak Frenchy there with you?' Cyriac asked wickedly awaiting the reaction from Lucas.

"I'll find you…you bastard and when I do you'll receive the due penalty for what you did to me!" Lucas snarled as his hand rested once again on his chest where the scar was.

"Ah, you understand the concept of an eye for an eye, Lucas," Cyriac drifted into a philosophical voice, "Yes; you see I believe in that concept as well! This is why I have Agent DiNozzo here with me. You see Agent Gibbs; though both of your Agents would deny it, they both love each other."

"Yoel!" Ziva started at him, "You're treading on dangerous ground! If it is me you want I swear I'll meet you anywhere you choose and I will gladly finish the job that I thought I had done."

"Ah, yes I thought you might say that!" Cyriac laughed over the speaker, "Well maybe you might have a chance to say goodbye to that bastard you call your father before I put a full metal jacket bullet though his head!"

"Yoel!" Ziva screamed at him now, "I will kill you, you scum of the earth, you cold-hearted bastard, I will kill you and that's a promise!"

Cyriac laughed manically now, "You have no idea…soon you'll be dead and the only memory you'll carry to paradise is pain! Now I must be going because Gibbs isn't stupid he'll have traced this call…goodbye until we meet again!" The connection closed and Ziva slumped into her chair, forcing the tears from her eyelids.

"Got his location boss!" McGee said proudly rising, he had heard the conversation but he knew he had done something right. "Dulles International Airport!"

"They could be anywhere!" Lucas sighed, and stood up.

Gibbs grabbed him shoving him into Tony's filing cabinet. His hands holding Lucas' collar firmly as he shoved the younger man hard against the metal filing cabinet, Lucas eyes showing real signs of fear as Gibbs let out his anger and frustration on him. "I have one of my Agents in the hands of an Israeli psychopath because you! All because you little piece of worthless crap, believed that Korah kept to a pattern of just going after a target and not using bait or acting like Ari Haswari!"

Ziva flinched at the sound of her half-brothers name, "Gibbs…" She tried to intervene.

"Shut up David!" Gibbs snarled at her, and then turned his attention back to Lucas. "Now I have an Agent out there being tortured and used as bait. When he actually knew nothing about what was going on!"

"Special Agent Gibbs!" Director Shepard shouted at him her voice filled with authority. Gibbs let go of the FBI Agent and turned to meet Jenny head on. The two former partners eyeballing each other in a non-verbal battle of wills. Lucas retreated to Tony's chair and looked at Ziva who had regained some of her composure. Jenny said finally as she kept her gaze on Gibbs, "I made that decision not Lucas! So if you want to take it out on someone then go ahead! Take it out on me!"

"If that's what you want DIRECTOR!" Gibbs growled at Jenny emphasising her title. "I think you made a bloody stupid decision. Tony is part of my team an…important part. You have just gone and killed him! Korah has him and he isn't about to just let him go, so thanks for that DIRECTOR!" Gibbs bumped her as he brushed passed, "I'm going for Coffee…anyone follows me or even calls me I'll personally stomp all over them till their life is hanging by a thread!"

"I've never seen Gibbs like that before!" McGee said astonished looking at Jenny who stood totally still. Ziva made a gesture to keep quiet.

"I have," Jenny said quietly, "Paris 1999, after he was granted bail by the French police!" Jenny turned and walked back up the stairs towards her office.

_A/N: Okay so what did you think, please review?_


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from the TV show

_Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from the TV show. They belong to Belisarius Productions and CBS. I did really then Jeanne and Mann wouldn't have existed and Tiva would be awesome._

_A/N: Okay so who will die? We'll find out shortly. Thanks to OZNCISLover from NFA for her help on this chapter! Please review and let me know what you think! Enjoy! Kandon_

Gibbs stepped out of the elevator and walked quickly into the bullpen! The sight of what looked like a bomb had gone off in the bullpen made him raise an eyebrow! "What the hell happened?" Gibbs looked towards McGee who had his head tilted backwards while Abby placed what looked like a face washer over one of his eyes.

"Gibbs!" Abby moaned as if she were hurting. "She took off ten minutes after you left!"

"Why didn't you stop her?" Gibbs glared towards McGee.

Abby placed a hand on Gibbs' shoulder, "Look around oh fearless leader!" Gibbs surveyed the mess and Abby continued, "McGee and Lucas tried to prevent her!"

Gibbs looked about trying to find Lucas, "Where is Survage?"

McGee looked over at Gibbs, "Ziva broke his nose! He was the first one to stand in her way and tell her that you had to be in control!" McGee gave Gibbs a small smile, "It was a punch you would have been proud of Boss!"

"Then she punched Timmy in the face and gave him a hard punch the guts," Abby interjected into the conversation.

"What made her do all this?" Gibbs said still bewildered as to why Ziva had suddenly lost all control of herself.

"She started going on about how it was all her fault and that she should never have stayed silent," Abby explained. "Then she went to her desk and pulled her SIG out. Lucas tried to stop her and that's when she hit him!" Abby hugged Gibbs, "She'll be okay, right Gibbs?"

The question snapped Gibbs out of his shock. He pulled Abby off him and looked at McGee, "Can you still shoot?"

"Yeah Boss!" McGee rose from his seat.

"Gear up, flak jacket radio and get a shot gun!" Gibbs said as he ran up the stairs. He stopped and looked at Abby, "Abs, I want you to monitor Ziva's and Tony's phones and send us through any information you have on both of them!"

"Gibbs!" Abby called to him, "Bring them both back safely!"

"I'll try Abs!" Gibbs mumbled as he headed into Jenny's office, "I'll try!"

XXXXXXXX

Ziva glanced at her watch, she had no more then half an hour to find Tony and stop Cyriac. This was the final hangar that either of them could be in, it was the last hangar for a sniper to shoot from so it made perfect sense that this would be where Cyriac was hiding. She darted across the tarmac of Dulles International Airport. She froze as she reached a hangar and ducked behind the flimsy wall of the hangar. She pulled the SIG out from her belt she twisted to stand in the opening of the hangar. It was silent, no movement and no Tony. She moved deeper into the hangar. "Where are you Tony?" Ziva said to herself, trying to keep her fear and anxiety down.

She stopped at the final door close to the back of the building. Pressing herself the she listened for noise from within. The slightest noise would give her hope. She was rewarded after two minutes of constant listening by the sound of someone groaning in pain on the opposite side. She pivoted, SIG pointed at the lock on the door, "Stand clear!" she shouted as loudly as she dared in case Cyriac was nearby. It wouldn't have mattered anyhow; the blast from the SIG would have alerted him. Besides Ziva was in a rush, saving Tony and stopping Cyriac from killing her last living relative was all that mattered. The SIG firing echoed in the silent hanger, Ziva kicked at the door.

Ziva froze as she stood looking at the man who was literally hanging around. Tony DiNozzo looked like someone of the undead! The dried blood on his face, neck and shirt made him look like something out of a horror movie. Tony coughed as she stood there and rivulets of blood ran from the side of his mouth. The scary thing was that Tony was hanging from the ceiling by barbed wire. He was hanging awkwardly as if he had been tortured. Ziva turned around to cover her behind, satisfied no one was going to come in from behind she walked in. Tony's swollen eyelids rose as best as he could to see who the newcomer was. He coughed again, more blood seeping from his mouth, "Goddamn Plague!" He muttered, to Ziva he sounded different. His voice sounded strained and dry.

"Tony!" Ziva whispered, as she closed with him, "I'm so sorry, I should have told you and McGee about Cyriac!"

Tony laughed sardonically, "You're not another one of Cyriac's mind games are you? Cause if you are I'm not falling for it!" He coughed again allowing the blood to spill onto his now tattered shirt.

Ziva looked at him with alarm, then walked round behind him to remove his bonds. She gasped, "Tony! He's…" Cyriac was inflicting pain, a speciality of his.

"He's bound my wrists with barbed wire!" Tony said sarcastically again, he gritted his teeth as he gave his wrists a slight jerk to show her it was barbed wire. "Oh shit…Yeah hurts like hell," Tony watched her as Ziva returned to his bloodied face, "But it won't happen to you he'll just kill you like all the other Ziva's!"

Ziva lost Tony at that point, "All the other Ziva's Tony?"

"Yeah, the mock Ziva's they're used to play with my head!" Tony said as if explaining something so trivial, but Ziva could see fear in his eyes, "It works! If you were the real Ziva, I sure as hell would try everything to save you!"

"It's me Tony!" Ziva said frantically as if she expected Cyriac to appear at the door to Tony's dungeon.

"Aha, yeah like I'd believe that!" Tony said unconvinced as he continued ti wince and groan as the barbed wire dug in!

Ziva let out a frustrated groan, "Okay, you like to watch movies…the usual suspects is a favourite!"

"Ha!" Tony said unaffected by this statement, "It was sitting on my coffee table when Cyriac kidnapped me!"

"I snore like a drunken sailor with emphysema," Ziva said smiling at him, "You tried to get me to shut up and I placed that gun under your chin…you said to me 'Nothing, I thought I heard something', remember Tony!"

Tony's eyelid opened as wide as they would let him horror and fear clearly visible in his eyes, "Oh god, get out of here now! He's setting you up!"

"Not without you Tony," Ziva said walking around behind him, "I got you into this pigsty…I'm going to get you out!"

"No Ziva, I want you to get out of here right now!" Tony said authority in his voice now, "You're not becoming Kate! Besides the word is mess not pigsty, NOW GO!"

"No!" Ziva walked round to his face and pressed up close, "I can't lose you Tony!"

"You'd manage just fine," Tony snapped stubbornly back at her. "Now get out of here!"

Ziva was getting nowhere with the stubborn man, she ignored his ranting and raving his threats and bullying. She pulled the wire cutter sitting on a drum in the corner off and quickly cut the barbed wire that held him hanging from the ceiling. Tony landed heavily and gave Ziva a furious look, "If we live through this I'll murder you with my own hands!" Ziva was about to cut the barbed wire around his wrist, Tony stopped her.

"What?" Ziva said looking at him.

Tony looked at her with pleading eyes, "Please don't cut that, you do and I'll be bleeding to death. It's dug into my artery!"

"Tony!" Ziva eyes filled with pain as she nodded understandingly and with complete comprehension, "Let's go!"

They left the room, Tony leaning heavily on Ziva as they walked towards a stack of crates close to the open hangar. Cyriac stepped out from behind the crates, the JERICHO in his hand, "Leaving so soon bitch?" Ziva and Tony leapt for the cover of some empty oil drums, as bullets ricocheted off of the drums.

_A/N: Okay so what does everyone think? Please review and get back to me about this! Kandon. _


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters that appear in the TV show

_Disclaimer: I don't own any characters that appear in the TV show. They belong to Belisarius productions and CBS. The original characters are mine…if you hate them, I can understand. I'm not a fan either and I created them._

_A/N: Okay, so rounding this story up as quickly as possible. Big thanks to Emypink and OzNCISlover from NFA, my friends who took time out to look at this! Many thanks. Please review, Kandon._

"Come out, you little bitch!" Cyriac called from his position behind the crates. "You don't want Paris to happen all over again, do you? Don't you want to make sure I'm dead this time?"

Tony looked at Ziva. "Paris?"

"Knife fight!" Ziva said, her eyes on the crates that Korah was now behind.

"Do tell?" Tony said as he coughed again, dribbling blood onto the ground.

Ziva glanced at him with concern. "We need to get you out of here, soon!"

Tony shook his head and held out his hands. "Give me your back-up!"

Ziva couldn't comprehend what he was saying for a second. He was bleeding, coughing like he had the plague. What was he doing? It hit her and she knew what was going through his mind. Ziva shook her head angrily, forcing the tears from her eyes. "No…no, I will not let you…No Tony, I won't!"

"This isn't a debate, Zee-vah!" Tony snarled angrily. His hands stayed stretched out, and Ziva's eyes caught sight of the blood that was beginning to seep slowly and thickly down his wrist.

Tony looked into her eyes. "I got you into this mess. The least I can do is get you out! Now, no arguing, give me the back-up!" Ziva glared at him, and for the first time Tony didn't flinch. Tony was serious, his bloodied face looked back at her with resolve. She sighed, pulled the small revolver from her ankle holster and pressed it into his hand.

Tony nodded. "Thank you!" He opened the magazine housing and checked that all six slots had a bullet in them, and then flicked his wrist to close the magazine housing.

"Tony!" Ziva said hesitantly, placing a hand on his wrist. "Please, be careful. I…"

Tony gave her a winning smile on that wretched face of his. "I'll be fine! I want you to get out of here as soon as I fire my first shot!"

"Tony…" Ziva began.

He placed a bloodied finger on her lips to quieten her. "No! Its time now for this man to step up and prove that he's a man!"

"Come on, you little whore! Cyriac shouted from his position. "Come out so we can end this!"

Tony rose from his position using all the willpower at his disposal. Tony pulled the trigger twice; its discharge caused his already damaged hands to become more shredded and mangled from the recoil. Moving round the barrier, he ran as fast as his legs would carry him towards Cyriac's position. Ziva moved quickly the other way to the open door of the hangar. "He better not do anything stupid!" she muttered before sending a quick prayer upward, wondering why she had even thought of doing so.

XXXXXXXX

The blue Chrysler swerved into the open gate of Dulles International Airport. Security had already been informed about the arrival of the Federal Agents and so they had the boom gate and the normally close electronic gate open for their arrival. McGee gripped the seat hard as Gibbs foot stayed on the accelerator in the power slide. "Abs, tell me you have something?" Gibbs said over the throat microphone of his tactical suit.

"Ziva's phone is giving me a fix somewhere to the north of you!" Abby said through Gibbs and McGee's earwigs.

"How close can you get to their location?" Gibbs said again as he stepped on the accelerator and the car lurched towards the hangers with speed.

"Ah, boss?" McGee uttered as he tried to point out the towing vehicle running on a parallel course of interception.

"What!" Gibbs turned to him.

McGee pointed at the vehicle coming towards them on an angle. "That, boss!" Gibbs turned to look at the vehicle that was heading straight for them. In an instant, the car accelerated faster, making both vehicles look like they were going to collide. The Chrysler rushed past the towing vehicle; the driver watched the blue Chrysler speed past.

"Gibbs!" Abby said over the earwigs.

Gibbs nodded. "Yeah, Abs?"

"Ziva's GPS signal is coming from the last hanger!" Abby said into McGee and Gibbs' earwigs. "Just get there soon, Gibbs!

"Will do, Abs!" Gibbs said as he aimed the car in the direction of the last hanger on the Airport tarmac. As the car reached the hangar, Gibbs climbed out with his SIG already un-holstered.

He turned to McGee. "You take the back, I'll take the front! You get into trouble, you call me. I don't want any heroics, got it!"

McGee nodded. "Yeah, boss, sure…" McGee had a question, and Gibbs gave him the 'I'm waiting' look. "Uh, boss, what if I have the shot?"

"You take it, McGee!" Gibbs snapped at him. "You got me?!"

"Yes Boss!" McGee nodded sullenly.

"Good, now move, McGee" Gibbs said, a little less angrily. McGee peeled off and jogged towards the side entrance. Gibbs moved slowly towards the front of the open hangar. Somebody shot out in front of him and he grabbed her quickly. "Ziva!"

"Gibbs!" Ziva choked as she realised he was here, which meant McGee was here. "Tony is in there. He told me to run…I cannot…"

"We're here now, relax. We'll get him out!" Gibbs said, his voice filled with a little of his deep, yet caring attitude as he watched her trying to battle the tears from her eyes.

"Boss!" McGee spoke into Gibbs' earwig. "I'm in position!"

"Okay, McGee," Gibbs replied. "I've got Ziva here so go in two minutes after us! Block is only escape route…and remember take the shot…I know you can!"

"On it, boss!" McGee replied over the earwig.

"Let's go get our boy!" Gibbs said quietly as he slowly moved into the hangar. Ziva followed him, SIG in front of her. They moved past the crates that Korah had earlier been hiding behind when Tony and Ziva had been taking cover from the barrels. Gibbs swept the barrels and Ziva covered his back as he did so. "Clear!"

"You are foolish to enter into a fight you have no business being mixed up in, Special Agent Gibbs!" Korah said as he and Tony stepped out from behind a stack of crates. Korah was edging toward the side door where McGee would appear in moments. Gibbs could see that Tony was being held and had the barrel of a weapon at least pressing into his back. This was the first time Gibbs had seen his senior field agent in two days. He looked like a bloodied zombie. He was covered in blood, coughing and was as white as a sheet.

"You would sacrifice your team member here to protect that bitch behind you!" Korah surmised. Tony shook a little as if he were trying to break free. His face was twisted with pain. "Ah, ah, ah, I'm afraid I can't let you go, Tony!" Cyriac said. He pulled at the barbwire around his wrists.

Tony let out a scream of agony. "Ah, you bastard! I'm going to kill you! If I don't, Gibbs will!" Gibbs, for the first time, saw the blood oozing from barbwire wrapped around Tony's wrists.

"You let him go before I make you, Korah!" Gibbs' pent up anger now close to boiling.

"I have come to kill the bitch behind you!" Korah said, smiling evilly from behind the cover of Tony. "You give me David and you can have DiNozzo."

"Over my dead body!" Tony snarled at him.

"Shut up, DiNozzo!" Gibbs said, forcing his voice to become ice and calm.

The door opened at that precise moment and McGee burst into the hangar, his SIG trained on Korah's unprotected side. "Freeze NCIS!" were the first words he uttered without thinking, momentarily forgetting that Gibbs was there with Ziva.

Korah reacted like a rat that was cornered; he pointed his weapon at McGee. Korah's grip on Tony's wrist was loose and that was all the NCIS Senior Field Agent needed. Tony broke the grip and swung both arms and wrists towards Cyriac's face. Using the barbed wire as a weapon to, he hit Cyriac and Tony ripped his arms down towards him. Blood gushed from Korah's face. Crack! There was a sudden discharge of a weapon.

"Tony!" Ziva yelled as he fell away from Korah.

Korah rose to point his weapon at Ziva. Crack! Crack! A bullet tore across his chest and buried itself his arm. The second bullet slammed into his throat. Korah dropped to his knees clutching at his throat; the weapon in his hand dropping unceremoniously to the ground. Blood gushing from his throat as he gagged on his own blood, McGee and Gibbs approached Korah.

Gibbs stood over the dying man. "You don't ever threaten my team, any of them!" Gibbs voice was like a raging firestorm. "You will pay for what you did to Tony!" He knelt down, pressed his SIG to Korah's forehead and without flinching, pulled the trigger. Crack! The bullet ripped through bone and soft tissue like butter. The blood spread around the bottom of his head. Gibbs scowled and did not give the dead man a second thought as he rose and turned to where Tony lay.

Ziva was sitting beside him, cradling his head. "Ziva…Ziva!" Tony was trying; he was coughing up larger amounts of blood now.

"Shhh! Do not try to talk, Tony!" Ziva said sternly, caressing his forehead gently.

Tony shook his head. "I'm…sorry…I…couldn't save you with…without losing…my own…life."

Gibbs turned to McGee. "McGee, get Ducky down here now!"

"On it, boss!" McGee nodded as he pulled out his cell phone, but hesitated as he shot Tony another look.

"Today, McGee!" Gibbs barked, sounding angrier than he should. McGee winced, and Gibbs sighed. "Just do it, Tim."

Tony was saying something again as Gibbs knelt down and pressed his hands against Tony's bleeding chest wound. There was no use trying to stop the bleeding from Tony's wrists; they were so mangled now that nothing Gibbs or Ziva could do would stop the excessive bleeding. "Sorry…sorry, boss!" Tony turned to look at Gibbs.

"Tony!" Gibbs said gruffly. "You'll be fine...Ducky's on his way…you'll be fine." Gibbs had a look of fierce determination on his face

Tony laughed and then coughed as the blood in his lungs became too much for him. "T-tell Ducky…I wa-want…a good…autopsy. Jimmy…needs…to be...there!"

Gibbs scowled; he brought his hand to the back of Tony's head. Smack. Tony's eyes widened as Gibbs bent down and whispered into his ear. "You will not die! You understand me?!" he ordered, echoing the same order he'd given Tony two years earlier.

"On…on…it…boss…" Tony was struggling to keep his eyes open.

"Ducky will be here in ten, boss!" McGee said, walking back.

"Probie…Probie," Tony said, looking at McGee. "You…better…be…a…damn…better… senior…field…agent...then…I…ever…was!

You're not going to die, Tony!" McGee said meekly as he looked at his bloodied friend.

"And you would know this how, McGoo?" Tony said weakly as his now un-focusing eyes came to rest on Ziva. "Ziva…Ziva?"

Ziva pulled him close and looked at him. "I am here, Tony!"

Tony cracked a droopy grin, the last of his strength being used to rub her cheek with his bloodied hand. "You're…s-so…beau-beautiful!" he finally managed.

That the straw that broke the camels back for Ziva. A tear dropped onto her face and she ignored it, brushing the Mossad officer side of herself away. "You must hold on, Tony. Please…"

"I'm…I…I'm…sorry…bo-boss," Tony whispered, his un-focusing eyes resting on Gibbs.

"You're okay…son…I'm proud of you…I'm proud of what you achieved with your life!" Gibbs murmured, his voice catching on the last few words. He was about to lose Tony and all he could do was watch… and stay with him in his final moments. This was harder then Kate! At least with Kate it had been swift, painless and the shot that had killed her had been such a shock that the actual breathtaking second that ended Kate's life was in fact the easiest moment of them all. This was not like that; Gibbs was going to remember this heartbreaking moment for the rest of his life. He could see the agony on Tony's face and this look pierced his soul. It was hard on the rest of the team too, watching him leave the world slowly and painfully.

Tony smiled at Gibbs, his eyes now clouded. "Thanks…Dad!" he whispered painfully. I-I…wanted…t-to …make…y-you…proud!" Then his unseeing gaze shifted. "Ziva…Ziva?"

"I am here, Tony!" She stroked his cheek.

"I…I…I…l-love…ya…y-you!" Tony said with a sigh. His eyes closed as he let out a long deep breath and lay there motionless.

"Tony!" Ziva yelled. She began to do CPR; pumping his chest and blowing into his mouth. "Do not do this to me, Tony! It was not supposed to end like this!" She shouted as Gibbs pulled her away from the body that had once been Tony DiNozzo. Ziva fought against Gibbs' grip, punching, hitting, yelling until her arms went limp and she fell heavily against Gibbs. He held her, running his hand over the back of her hair. "I loved him, I loved him and never got a chance to tell him!" she whispered.

"I know, Ziva, I know," Gibbs sighed, shaking his head. Rule twelve was not there to look pretty, it was to stop horrific events like this from playing out. Now, Gibbs summarised, he'd not just lost an agent, but he'd lost a team, his team.

McGee looked on, his eyes tearing up. Gibbs held her close. "We all loved him in one way or another, Ziva!"

"No!" Ziva pulled away. "You do not understand!" With that, she ran from the hangar, leaving behind two broken-hearted agents and one body that has once been Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo.

_A/N: Okay, so was that emotionally raw enough…If I did Ziva out of character, let me know! Hope you enjoyed this story so far. Please review. One chapter to go…the epilogue._


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters that appear on the TV show

_Disclaimer: I don't own any characters that appear on the TV show. They are all owned by Belisarius Productions and CBS. Darn! I do however own the original characters that appear in this story!_

_A/N: The last chapter, I hope you have enjoyed this angst filled story. Please review and tell me what you thought of it in the end! Thanks and enjoy reading, Kandon._

The autopsy doors slid open as Jimmy Palmer wearily walked in. He had been at a conference today, though he was glad to be back. Jimmy knew why he was here; Gibbs had called him. _I've got two body bags…_ Gibbs had started to say over the cell phone, emotion had been evident in his voice. _One of them is DiNozzo!_ Gibbs had finally finished. Jimmy turned and pulled on his scrubs. He walked over to the first body bag and unzipped it; it was Korah. He zipped the bag back up. "He can stink a little longer!" Jimmy said bitterly.

Jimmy walked to the second bag and unzipped it. Tony looked pasty and white, the dried blood around his face, hand, chest making him look worse. "Hey, uh, Tony. I'm, err, sorry about … about all this …" he said awkwardly.

"_That isn't me, you know!" Tony walked over and looked down at the body._

Jimmy shrugged, and then spoke to apparition "This is, you know, going to be hard on everybody. You know that, right?"

_Tony nodded, walking around the table to look at Palmer. "Yeah, I figured as much. But what would you do … Someone was going to die, so why not the guy with no real attachments!"_

Jimmy shook his head sadly. "I think you made the wrong choice."

_Tony looked at Jimmy. "I guess we'll never know, will we!" And the apparition disappeared into nothingness._

XXXXXXXX

Jenny Shepard stood and looked out the window. She was holding a glass of whisky in her hand. Musing to herself, she turned to see a white and bloodied Anthony DiNozzo standing in front of her desk. Jenny gasped. "Tony!"

"_You satisfied now, Director?" Tony said harshly. "Wish you told McGee and me about Korah now?"_

A tear ran down her cheek. "I'm sorry, Tony. I was wrong. I'm sorry you paid the price and I'm going to have to live with it!"

_The apparition changed as he lent down on the desk. Tony was now dressed in a suit with his hair slicked back and his handsome features no longer bloodied. He smiled down at her. "You know, if you've learned anything from this, it is that rule number twelve was made to be broken!"_

"What are you trying to say?" Jenny said, already catching his drift.

Tony looked towards the door. "He's outside the door, pondering weather or not he should come in, let him in"

"Gibbs" Jenny whispered, and the apparition nodded. She placed her glass on the table. Tony disappeared as Jenny walked quickly around her desk and opened the door. Gibbs' hand was half way up to knock, something that was unlike Gibbs. Jenny wrapped her arms around Gibbs' neck and cried into his shoulder.

XXXXXXXX

Abby sat at her desk, she had the drawing of Tony that Kate had done sitting in front of her. It was a gift that Gibbs had given her earlier on. Her mascara was streaked, her knuckles bloodied and she looked like she was going to cut her throat or something.

"Tony! Why?" Abby began to sob again.

"_Hey, Abs!" Tony said, appearing at the doorway. _

Abby spun around. "Why, Tony? Why did you have to go and be so selfish?"

_Tony walked over to her and looked down. He reached out to place his hand on her shoulder, but she moved away. "Abs," Tony started, his voice was calm but there was pain. "I was going to die either way! The Barbed wire in my wrist was already causing me to bleed to death."_

Abby turned on him defiantly. "Oh, so that makes it okay?! Losing you makes me lose another piece of me …"

"_Believe me, Abs," Tony began, "if I could be here in the land of the living, I would. You think I want to see Ziva without me, Abs! I loved her!" _

Abby burst into tears again, she sobbed uncontrollably. "Oh, Tony! Why?"

"_Abs," Tony said, looking down at her, his voice calm and peaceful, "McGee needs you now. He's had a tough time too and he's the Senior Field Agent now. He needs you to help him and you need him!"_

Abby nodded, and Tony disappeared as McGee walked into the lab. "Timmy!" Abby leapt off her seat and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. "I miss him! I miss him so much!" she sobbed.

"Me too, Abs," McGee choked and forced his emotions down. He had to be strong for Abby. He had the feeling he needed to be.

XXXXXXXX

Jimmy had disappeared after the autopsy, which left Ducky alone. He rose from his desk, he felt old and exhausted. He walked over to one of the cool room door. He opened it and slid the tray and body out. He looked down at the now presentable body of Tony DiNozzo.

"My dear boy," Ducky smiled sadly. "I did as you asked. I preformed an autopsy that you would have been proud of."

"_Thanks, Ducky!" Tony looked up at him. "I'm sorry it had to be me. But I had to do something; I was betting that I would make it."_

"I think everybody did, my boy." Ducky looked down at Tony, "What possessed you to do it is what's troubling me."

"_Ducky!" Tony cocked his eyebrow at Ducky. "It was Ziva__,__ I didn't want to lose her to Korah. Besides, I got her into the mess!"_

"Ah, I see," Ducky nodded, "star crossed lovers … Shakespeare, a classic British poet!" Ducky paused and looked down at him again. "Let us hope she doesn't decide to do a Juliet!"

"_That will be a Gibbs' job, Duck." Tony looked at the doctor, then as if remembering, added, "Thanks, Ducky. I appreciate all you've done for me."_

"You're quite welcome, Anthony!" Ducky smiled sadly as he slid the tray back inside the cool room and closed the door.

XXXXXXXX

McGee sat in the corner of the elevator. The lab had received a call from Gibbs for McGee to return. McGee now sat in a shutdown elevator. He was feeling the extra weight of not being Tony and being the new Senior Field Agent. "I can't do this, I'm not Tony."

"_Probie!" Tony jeered at him. McGee jumped as Tony's apparition appeared in the elevator. "I said you were going to be a better then me. I know you can do this Tim!"_

"Don't go all nice on me now, Tony!" Tim snorted at the apparition. Then he nodded at Tony. "But thanks. I appreciate the fact you think I'll do better!"

"_Hey, McGeek … that was a confidence building thing!" Tony grinned at him. "Your way is different to mine, so there is actually no better way…P-r-o-b-i-e!"_

McGee rolled his eyes. "You're still the same old Tony, even in death!" McGee smiled softly as he climbed to his feet, squared his shoulders and took a deep breath. "I-I'll miss you, Tony."

"Please don't go all touchy feely on me, McGee," Tony snorted, but soften as he saw McGee was trying not to cry. "You'll do great, Tim. I know it. And guess what? You'll get your own probie to tease, now won't that be fun?

"I guess," McGee murmured.

"Good," Tony nodded his approval. "That's what I like to hear! I didn't tease you for nothing, you know, Probie." Tony turned and disappeared as McGee flicked the switch. The elevator jolted, the door dinged open and McGee said, "I won't let you down, Tony. I promise…"

XXXXXXXX

Ziva paced the evidence locker in the garage; it was the only quiet place in the building where she could let it all out and not have anyone bother her. Ziva stopped pacing and sat down on a crate.

"Why Tony?" Ziva whispered quietly as a new set of tears ran down her face. "Was I not so much more important?"

"_Of course you were!" Tony said, walking towards her. "You think I wanted to die!"_

"No" Ziva shook her head, not wanting to look at him.

"_Hey, look at me!" Tony said softly as he stepped right up to her. "I didn't want you to die. I was willing enough to give up my own life to save yours!"_

"Well, you shouldn't have," Ziva muttered, her eyes still diverted. "I am not worth dying over, remember?"

_"You are the one person that I would die a thousand times over for, Ziva," Tony responded gently, lifting her face so that they were eye to eye._

"But…" Ziva began fresh tears forming. Tony reached out and wiped them with his thumb.

"_No buts, Zee-vah." Tony bent in and whispered into her ear. "Just know this … I love you and I always will, sweetcheeks!" _

Another tear trickled down her face as she looked up at Tony. "I think I do also … I-I …

"_I know…" Tony blew her a kiss as he disappeared, leaving Ziva alone once again. _

"I-I love you too …"

XXXXXXXX

Gibb sat in the empty bullpen. He had left McGee with Jenny as they finalised his promotion. Gibbs had found it hard, but like Tony, he knew McGee would do a great job. He had every faith in Tim McGee, his other son. Gibbs grinned and pulled his small flask out of his pocket. He unscrewed the lid and held it up as he looked at the writing. _Jethro, for good luck. Love Shannon and Kelly._

Gibbs gave a small smile. "You'll love our adopted son and brother, you guys!" Gibbs saluted the empty desk diagonally opposite. "Semper Fi!" He swallowed a mouthful, savouring the taste.

"_Thanks, boss!" Tony suddenly appeared at the desk. "You know, I have a strange feeling that you never did want me to leave even when I did annoy you!"_

Gibbs grinned at the apparition. "Ya think, DiNozzo!"

_Tony grinned at him. "You'll miss me, you know!"_

"That I will, Tony!" Gibbs nodded. "But at least I won't be frustrated to the eyeballs anymore."

"_Thanks, boss!" Tony replied sarcastically. Then he smiled at Gibbs again. "I'll be sure to tell them hi from you. How does that sound?"_

"I would like that Tony and please keep an eye on them" Gibbs said as the smiling apparition disappeared. "Goodbye, my son"

XXXXXXXX

The funeral had taken place two days earlier, Gibbs had been asked to speak about Tony and he had done a great job. Gibbs thought he had seen DiNozzo senior at the back of the church but he hadn't been sure. Gibbs now sat at his desk, McGee was down in Abby's lab with Abby and Ziva hadn't yet arrived. Gibbs was willing to cut her some slack.

The door to the elevator opened, Lucas Survage walked out carrying his backpack. His nose was bruised and he looked like he'd been in a prizefight. He walked into the bullpen and straight up to Gibbs. "Well what can we do for the Federal Bureau of Idiots today?" Gibbs looked up sarcasm dripping from his voice.

Lucas silently pulled a slip of paper and slid it onto the desk. "That is my request for transfer. I've officially joined NCIS and ... I'm on your team!"

"Like hell you are!" Gibbs snarled and walked quickly and steadily up the stairs towards Jenny's office.

Lucas stood awkwardly for the next fifteen minutes. Ziva looked surprised to see him, "Lucas what are you doing here?"

Gibbs appeared seconds later before Lucas spoke Gibbs, shoved the paper into his chest. He stood nose to nose with Lucas. "You go behind my back or even think about it! You're ass is mine! Clear!"

"Crystal" Lucas said his mouth dry. Then he turned and sat down at Tony's desk.

"Hey!" Gibbs barked, Lucas looked at him. "That's Tony's desk!" Gibbs stated loudly and openly at him. Gibbs pointed to the desk at the far end of the bullpen, "Yours is down there!"

_A/N: The story has ended. I wasn't expecting to end it here, but I have. Thanks for reading and thanks to those people who stuck with me and reviewed. Kandon _


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